What Are Your Work Values?

What would make you leap out of bed in the morning, excited to get to work? Why do you feel a deep sense of meaning and satisfaction after completing specific tasks? How does your connection to others get you pumped up? These all involve your personal work values — what you consider important in life.

Putting your values into words can be challenging. Perhaps you’ve never considered what matters most to you or why you get excited about specific activities. These concepts are important — both to understand yourself better and determine what types of careers will be most rewarding and enjoyable.

Fortunately, there’s an assessment you can take to help you discover your values and why they matter! It’s called the Values Assessment or the Work Importance Locator (WIL). Read on to learn more about this assessment, how you can take it, and what the results mean.

There are six categories of values. Which ones do you relate to most?

Achievement

Do you love seeing the direct results of your efforts? Do you enjoy using your best skills and abilities in your work? Is feeling “accomplished” important to you?

When you score high in achievement, the work itself is the reward.

Achievement is that “warm fuzzy feeling” or satisfaction of a “job well-done” after accomplishing something meaningful. It’s being able to put your “fingerprints” on your work and then see its impact on others, your community, your employer, or the world. Facing new challenges and improving your current skills are both important to Achievement. For example, you conduct research that helps raise awareness of preventable diseases, create a blueprint for a building you later watch be constructed, or program a video game that later releases on console and PC.

Careers high in Achievement include: Researchers/Scientists, Psychiatrists, Actors, Bakers, Fashion Designers, Detectives, and many more!

Relationships

Do you like being surrounded by friendly people? Does “helping others” feel good? Are you guided by strong personal morals of right and wrong?

When you score high in Relationships, you want your work to “make a difference.”

Relationships might mean really “getting to know” the people who frequent your work — your coworkers, customers, patients, or clients. Instead of a high-turnover workplace, you work alongside the same people for years, often helping “repeat” clients. Surrounding yourself with others who share your morals and principles — and who provide friendly support throughout the day — motivates you.

Careers high in Relationships include: Secretaries/Administrative Assistants, Cosmetologists, Nurses, Dental Hygienists/Assistants, Conservation Scientists, Counselors, Legislators, and many more!

Support

Does “team synergy” energize you? Do you want to be led by an experienced boss? Does knowing the company “has your back” bring you comfort?

When you score high in Support, you want a “fair” and “competent” workplace.

Support means you have a close connection to your supervisor and team. Communication flows well between your coworkers and boss, ensuring you have a “voice” in the organization’s decisions and encouraging your feedback. Your workplace supports you in other ways, too: being clear about their rules/policies, providing flexible hours, and ensuring you have the proper training, tools, and team to succeed.

Careers high in Support include: Aerospace Engineering Technologists, Firefighters, Forensic Science Technicians, First-line Supervisors, Computer Network Support Specialists, and many more!

Independence

Does the thought of “being your own boss” appeal to you? Do you highly value your freedom and creativity? Is “working alone” your preference?

When you score high in Independence, you like being fully responsible for your work.

Independence means you enjoy work where you’re required to take initiative. This could mean working alone (or from home), being your own boss, or simply working for a boss who doesn’t micromanage and trusts your competence to get the job done. You feel empowered to act on your own, take calculated risks, work flexible hours, and use your creativity to develop fresh ideas and resolve problems.

Careers high in Independence include: Food Service Managers, Coroners, Photographers, Private Detectives, Web Developers, Financial Examiners, Video Game Designers, and many more!

Working Conditions

Is it important that your needs are accommodated? Do you want a specific pay level? Is staying busy, working alone, or traveling important to your workstyle?

When you score high in Working Conditions, you know exactly what kind of workplace you want.

Think of your Working Conditions as a checklist — things you strongly prefer your workplace to be, do, have, or accommodate in order for you to both choose and enjoy that particular job. You likely have a very specific “workstyle,” such as wanting to stay busy, working mostly outdoors, being alone, directly interacting with people throughout the day, or working in an office-type environment. Pay, job security, and safety may also be important to you.

Careers high in Working Conditions include: Computer Systems Analysts, Civil Drafters, Machinists, Makeup Artists, Actuaries, Marketing Managers, and many more!

Recognition

Do you want to be a manager or leader? Is opportunity for advancement or having authority important? When others acknowledge your work, do you feel motivated and appreciated?

When you score high in Recognition, status and prestige mean a lot.

Recognition means receiving rewards for the work that you do. In exchange for your efforts, ideas, and skills, you receive advancement, leadership, authority, pay raises, and praise/feedback from others. Employee reviews are an opportunity to showcase your contributions — which are rewarded with accolades, opportunities for growth, and greater status. You can take pride in your work because it’s an extension of your leadership capabilities, and you feel respected by your supervisors and colleagues.

Careers high in Recognition include: Models, Commercial Pilots, Nuclear/Chemical Engineers, Zoologists, Accountants, Musicians, Pharmacists, and many more!

Ready to Discover Your Work Values?

EFSC’s Career Center offers a free Work Values assessment through MyPlan.com! Simply contact the Career Center for instructions on how to take the assessment from home.

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Casey Covel

As Assistant Manager of Web and Social Media at EFSC, Casey keeps students informed of all the exciting "happenings" at the college. She earned national honors while completing her A.A. degree at EFSC, graduated with a B.A. in Human Communication through UCF, and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Media Psychology at Fielding University. An award-winning writer on matters of faith and pop culture, Casey’s hobbies include sipping tea, wielding chopsticks, gaming in the realms of Tellius and Hyrule, growing her action figure collection and squinting at strange words.